Does Local Honey Help Seasonal Allergies
As an allergist, I love hearing this question and guiding patients on TRUEevidence-based medicine. There is a widespread and FALSE belief that eating local, rawhoney can help allergies by regularly exposing you to pollen – not unlike the concept of how allergy shots work. Allergy shots help desensitize allergic people by exposing them topollen injected at regular intervals. An important difference here is that the amount of pollen in allergy shotsis known, and slowly increased to a certain level, for best results. Studies have shown allergy shots are very effective for decreasing seasonal and year-round allergy symptoms.
Local, unprocessed honey does contain small amounts of pollen from the environment. The pollen in honey is mostly from the flowers where bees are found, butflowering plant pollen is not the cause ofallergy symptoms.Pollen from trees, grasses and weeds are the true allergy causing culprits, and these plants arenot pollinated by bees! Thus, the amount of allergenic pollen in the honey is typically very small. This is considered a contaminant, like the bee parts, mold spores, bacteria and other environmental particles that can be found in honey.
In the end, I fully support buying local honey for all the right reasons. Just dont ask the bees to cure your allergies.
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How Does Honey Work On Allergies
In order for it to be effective it must fit these criteria:
Raw The honey needs to say that it is raw or you need to ask your farmer directly. Honey that is raw will still contain all the living enzymes needed to protect your body from a histamine overdose.
Local I have heard all sorts of specific mileages on this. Im not sure where they all come from. The truth is that there isnt a magic number of miles within which you must purchase your honey. Any raw honey that is harvested nearby where the same sort of plants are blooming at roughly the same time can be considered local.
Allergen Appropriate If you have fall allergies, you need to use raw, local honey that is harvested in the fall. If you buy raw, local honey that was harvested in the spring, you will no doubt enjoy some honey and get some health benefits. You will not, however benefit from the allergy prevention because the pollens to which you are allergic will not be found in this honey.
The big drawback here is that raw, local honey only works on pollen allergies. For years I was frustrated that I couldnt help people with other sensitivities. So I developed one of our honey spreads to work on the histamine reaction and to support the liver. The herbs I like best for allergy suffering are:
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Can Local Honey Help Fight Seasonal Allergies
There is a lot of debate around whether or not honey can help fight seasonal allergies, but there is some compelling evidence that it can. Honey is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients that can help to fight off allergens. Additionally, honey is a natural antihistamine and can help to relieve symptoms of seasonal allergies.
Does Eating Local Honey Really Help With Allergies
There is no scientific evidence that eating local honey will improve seasonal allergies. A study, published in 2002 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, showed no difference between allergy sufferers who ate local honey, commercially processed honey, or a honey-flavored placebo.
How much local honey should I eat for allergies?
* Start by taking ¼ teaspoon of local, seasonal wildflower honey by mouth once a day. Increase the amount of honey by ¼ teaspoon every other day, working up to 1 tablespoon of honey per 50 pounds of the persons weight. For example, a person weighing 100 pounds should work up to 2 tablespoons of honey daily.
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So Is Eating Local Honey For Allergies A Myth
Dr. Bassett confirms that, yes, “this is a common myth, and unfortunately, honey does not improve seasonal allergies.”
“There is very little scientific evidence to suggest that eating local honey can treat or cure seasonal allergy symptoms,” Dr. Marks-Cogan says. “While there is anecdotal evidence that it can help, of the available clinical studies, the results are conflicting and the sample sizes are very small so it’s hard to generalize them to the U.S. population.”
The primary study cited as evidence that this home remedy works was conducted in Malaysia in 2010. There were only 40 participantshalf of whom took loratadine and honey, while the other half took loratadine and a honey-flavored corn syrup placebo. After four weeks, both groups experienced the same level of relief from their seasonal allergy symptoms. Then after eight weeks, the group ingesting honey showed more improvement. But at that stage, they were taking very high daily doses of honeynot to mention allergy medication as wellso the results are not exactly conclusive.
Dr. Bassett also points out that other studies have compared people who ate local honey, commercially processed honey, or a honey-flavored placebo, and found no differences in allergy symptoms among them.
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The Evidence Against Raw Local Honey
Sadly, its highly unlikely that eating raw local honey will cure your seasonal allergies. There is very little scientific evidence to suggest any sort of healing effect. Of the studies that do exist, the sample sizes are too small to generalize to the U.S. population, and the results are conflicting at best.2
The honey cure is supported primarily by anecdotal evidence. While anecdotes can be helpful, they are also subjective and frequently riddled with errors and disproportionality overrepresent positive outcomes. For example, if a persons allergy symptoms stop after two months of eating honey, they may assume the honey cured their allergies. However, it is also possible and much more likely that trees in their area stopped releasing pollen because of seasonal changes.
Natures Natural Allergy Relief
Those who experience seasonal allergies are likely no stranger to drugstore antihistamines. And, while that is a recommended treatment plan, nature also makes its own allergy relief in honey which, according to research, can help address issues with seasonal allergies.
Some people say that honey decreases their allergy symptoms, says Dr. Shah. This is because it can be a way of exposing your body to the pollen that triggers your allergies. When we expose ourselves to a small dose of the allergen we are allergic to, we practice something called immunotherapy, which is a type of allergy treatment Dr. Shah uses. That being said, honey might only be helpful for some people. The main pollen in honey is from flowers, so if you have allergies to trees, grass, or weed pollen, it might not be that helpful, Dr. Shah explains, noting that if you plan to try honey for allergies and it works for you to keep using it. But, if you have more severe allergy symptoms, you might need a treatment thats more powerful than a teaspoon of local honey every day.
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Debunking The Honey Cure
There are a few other reasons to assume that honeys curative effects have been vastly overstated. Firstly, there is no way for the average consumer to verify how much pollen is present in their honey. The amount is likely so small that it would not have a therapeutic effect on the body.
Many people dont realize that bees make honey out of nectar, the sugary sweet liquid excreted by flowers, and not pollen, the powdery substance used for fertilization. Bees are attracted to nectar, and as they collect it to make their honey, pollen accidentally sticks to their legs. In other words, pollen is a trace contaminant in honey, not the main ingredient.
Also, even if there was enough pollen in raw local honey to trigger the immune system, it would probably be the wrong kind. Bees typically pollinate colorful flowers, yet most people are allergic to pollen released by grasses, trees and weeds.
Using Immune Memory To Your Allergy Advantage
When your immune system comes across pollen again, your immune cells recognize the pollen from all the pictures it took and posted up the last time they encountered one another. That memory allows your immune system to respond faster and better every time it encounters the familiar threat, because it learned how to best deal with it last time.
This system works great for threats like viruses or bacteria. These threats dont usually happen every day, so the immune system doesnt become desensitized to seeing the same problem repeatedly.
But imagine if the same problem kept happening every day. Most likely, the immune cells would stop responding as aggressively. Eventually, they might even learn to just live with it like a busted ceiling tile in the break room or a tiny leak in the roof whenever it rains.
When this conditioning is done intentionally, its called immunotherapy. These techniques can be used to help train your body to grow comfortable with having particles like pollen around, so your immune system learns to live with its presence and ignore it.
This is how allergy shots work. By giving you a concentrated dose of particle pieces that youre allergic to every few weeks or months, you can train your immune system to desensitize itself to the presence of that allergy-causing substance.
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Could You Introduce Yourself For The Readers And Tell Us About Why You Chose A Career With The American Lung Association
I joined the Lung Association in 2014 because I was attracted to its comprehensive missionto save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. Every day we help Americans breathe easier through our efforts to fund innovative research, advocate for policies that protect our lungs, and educate patients, caregivers, providers, and the public with science-backed information. We were founded more than 115 years ago, and the needs are greater today than ever before, including the youth vaping epidemic, climate change, and COVID-19!
How Does It Work
All honey contains a minuscule amount of pollen, as does your local honey. The pollen that floats in the air and cause your symptoms, also reach the honey bees when theyre flying around looking for their next meal. A very small amount of pollen molecules stick to the hair on their bodies and will drop into the honey when they go back to their hives and deposit it. Ingesting this pollen will help your body get used to the pollen in your area and will help ease your allergy symptoms. Think of it as a natural, delicious flu shot!
Honey from another area can contain different pollens than the pollen that youre reacting to in your town, which is why its important that you get honey from a local area to help relieve your allergy symptoms.
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Can Raw Local Honey Really Combat Seasonal Pollen Allergies
We all grew up with wives tales of how to cure sore throats with peroxide and itchy skin with oatmeal, but what about home remedies for allergy relief? With the vast majority of people Googling their ailments in search of relief, its no wonder a handful of home remedies have become popular enough to have patients asking their doctors if these things really work. One of the most common myths we hear is that raw honey can be used to build an immunity to seasonal pollen allergies, much in the way allergy shots work.
The idea is that honeybees use local pollen to make honey, and much like allergy shots, exposing your self to small amounts of pollen will help retrain the immune system to not react to the allergy. The folly with this idea is that the bees use pollen that most people arent allergic to, like wildflowers, instead of ragweed.
While it may be harmless for some to try, and the homeopathic journals swear by its effectiveness, it is very important to keep in mind that it is possible for susceptible individuals to develop an allergy to the pollen they are exposed to via the raw honey. Scientific and medical journals have reported their fair share of anaphylactic or life-threatening allergic reactions caused by consuming raw honey.
Ramie A. Tritt, M.D., President, Atlanta ENT
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What Treatments Are Available For Seasonal Allergies
Honey may not give you relief from your pollen allergy, but thankfully, there are allergy treatments that can. The most common treatments for seasonal allergies are:
- Over-the-counter or prescription allergy medicines such as nasal corticosteroid sprays or non-drowsy antihistamines
- Immunotherapy allergy shots or tablets for long-term treatment to reduce how severe your allergic reactions are
Many medicines to help you manage your seasonal allergies are available without a prescription. You can also take steps to reduce your exposure to pollen when counts are high.
If seasonal allergies are making you miserable and over-the-counter medicines and other at-home treatments are not helping, a visit to an allergist may be very helpful. They will determine if other treatments, like immunotherapy, can help you.
Immunotherapy is effective at improving seasonal allergy symptoms. It can actually help you achieve desensitization. Allergy shots contain controlled amounts of your specific allergen. Your doctor injects you with increasing amounts as your body adjusts and then watches you for allergy symptoms.
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Tell Us About The Fight For Air Climb
The American Lung Associations Fight For Air Climb is the nations premier stair climbing challenge. At 38 events nationwide, children and adults of all ages participate in this celebratory stair-climbing adventure. Pre-pandemic, the Fight For Air Climb was held in several of our countrys most iconic skyscrapers. This year, the Lung Association invited participants outdoors for a one-of-a-kind adventure to support healthy lungs and clean air. In fact, Dale was among the companys team of more than 50 employees that climbed the stairs at Milwaukees American Family Field on May 22nd, proving he puts his feet, time, and talent behind causes he supports.
Does Science Support Using Local Raw Honey For Allergies
Local, raw honey has so many wonderful uses.Not only does it provide sweetness to our food in a way that works with the body, but it can also be used to treat minor wounds, clear up problematic skin, and soothe digestive problems, and deliver vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to the body. Adding allergy prevention and relief to that list makes honey a very powerful and multi-functional gift from nature.
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How Did Aprilaire And The American Lung Association Come To Work Together In The First Place What Does That Relationship Look Like Presently
AprilAire and the American Lung Association forged a new relationship in 2018. We quickly realized how much we had in common. Our partnership was developed as we saw an opportunity to educate and help more consumers improve the air in their homes to create a healthier environment.
Since 2020, AprilAire has been a Proud Partner of the Lung Association with its 4 residential air filters. Additionally, AprilAire joined the Lung Association as our FY20 National Fight For Air Climb Partner For Healthy Air. The company has also supported the Lung Associations Stand Up For Clean Air campaign. As part of this initiative, we are driving conversations around air quality, climate, and health. The Lung Association invited people to share their #MyCleanAirStoryknowing that when people realize climate and air quality are impacting the health of their neighbors, friends, and loved onesthey are more willing to act. AprilAire provided prizes for the #MyCleanAirStory contest, including one grand prize of a whole-home Indoor Air Quality upgrade and nine AprilAire Room Air Purifiers. This year, the company stepped up once again to sponsor the Wisconsin Fight For Air Climb in Milwaukee. Also in 2021, the Lung Association welcomed Dale Philippi, President and CEO of Research Products Corporation, AprilAires parent company, to the Lung Associations Wisconsin Leadership Board of Directors.
Why Is Raw Honey Bad For Your Allergies
Unlike grocery store varieties, raw local honey contains pollen from the immediate environment. Pollen is the main cause of seasonal allergies. So if you consume small amounts of pollen over time, your body will stop recognizing local pollen as a threat. At least, thats the theory.
Can we eat local honey if we are allergic to pollen?
Some people think that eating local honey works the same way because it contains pollen. One problem with this theory: theres no way to know exactly whats in your honey. With immunotherapy, we isolate the exact allergen that patients are allergic to, says Ogden.
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